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New day.. New office location.. New Seat..
So many new things happened to me before this new year comes.
Newness always brings enthusiasm and excitement.
Hope this New Year also comes with hand full of surprises as Every Day is a New Day indeed..!!!

When: 31 BC
Where: Rome and Egypt
What’s So Special about Their Love: These two had a love so strong, war was waged against them to break them up. When Mark Antony left his wife, Octavia, for the mesmerizing Cleopatra, Octavia’s brother Octavian brought the army of Rome to destroy them. These two lovers were so entranced with each other that they committed suicide rather than be apart- the ultimate Romeo and Juliet true love story.

Friday, April 26, 2019

I only wish that I could keep the house clean, feed my kid delicious and nutritious meal, organize a days in a way that doesn’t drive me crazy, AND still have a little time for fun? Aww.. very very difficult!

After all, food and clean underwear are the bare minimum we moms need to strive for. If your kid has clean clothes to wear and healthy food to eat, you’ve made a great start on taking care of both of you.

You know that the life as Mom is full of sleepless nights, overflowing diaper pails, and messes that multiply like bunnies. It’s also replete with happy giggles, bellies to tickle, and warm bodies to cuddle.

My babies smile, giggles, and pride in new accomplishments can heal me and bring joy in my life!

I can have the worst day, come home and listen to see my Adi and All is right in my world!"

Monday, March 19, 2012

The debate was raged over whether being a working mom is
bullying her life or helping her to mould a decent life. Having children
and a career does not make her life like hell whereas working moms seem to be happy,
a new study by Care.com found. Surveying 1,000 working mothers, in
addition to raising a family, eight out of ten mothers are enjoying
managing a career as well. 78 percent of the respondents have replied
they are not only just managing both the roles but they are enjoying too
as both the roles are not inhibiting other. Care.com listed the
benefits of their dual roles according to their respondents.

50 percent of the working moms said working helps them to be powerful role models
for their kids. Another 40 percent respondents have said being a
working parent gives them more perspectives and more creative ideas both
in work and in parenting too. 32 percent reportedly said they are
feeling more motivated not only to work but also to take new roles.

As, many of the working women do not have staff to help her with child caring and scheduling other activities,
she needs to rely on other family members to support her. In one way,
it helps to have a good family relationship whereas many of the
generation-X lives like a separate entity. According to the survey, 77
percent of the working moms have said they are supported either by their spouse or by other members of
their family for upbringing their kids. 89 percent of those reported
they are supported by their family even to achieve their career goals.

Unfortunately, when it comes to workplace, most of the companies are
not lending their supportive hands to working moms. According to the
report, around one out of four companies are offering child care benefits to working parents and there are only 6 percent of the companies offering on-site child care.

You should ask support from your firm if your company is not giving
enough support by offering better child care benefits, Managing Editor
of Care.com, Kate Bugbee says. "Go to HR and ask for more child care
benefits. Ask for flex time to be able to work from home when needed.
Snow days happen. Kids can catch the flu. Nannies can get sick. It helps
when your office can support you -- and even offer backup care options.
If you think you need flex time, it is helpful to create a schedule that would work for you, but that shows you will still meet your commitments." Reports CareerBuilder.com.

Adding to that Kate Bugbee gives few tips for working moms to make life a little easier.
She gave more importance for creating a plan where you need to discuss
with your manager about your career goals and how you prepare to achieve
them. Bugbee says, "We moms know that we don't come to work to waste
time, so make sure the company knows what you're working towards and ask
to come up with a road map to help you get there."

To enjoy your work, you should also cultivate a good relationship with co-workers.
As you spend more hours at workplace, it is important to make happy
hours even at workplace. Bugbee says. "If you feel like you're missing
out, initiate a group lunch once a month." As there are many working
moms today in the corporate world, you are not the one who needs to be
supported by the firm you work for. More women are going back to work
after having kids. More women are graduating from college. With the
proper support of human resources and company benefits, moms can get
help balancing the complex needs of juggling it all," Bugbee says.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Hrithik (Duggu) had previously confessed that he saw Suzanne Khan
across a traffic light and fell in love with her. Suzanne’s side of the
story is slightly different. It appears that, Hrithik and she knew each
other from the time when they were kids, since they lived in the same
locality. But LOVE didn’t happen until she came back from the US, armed
with an Associate Art Degree course in Interior Designing. Los Angeles
and the US of A had done shy, reticent Suzanne, a great deal of good.
America taught her to be herself and not be scared of doing something
she believed in. She admits, “From an introvert, I was transformed into
an independent girl!”And that’s the one quality Hrithik instantly liked
and admired. He was still a raw actor, taking acting lessons and he
hadn’t started working. So the fact that young Suzanne was making
something of herself impressed him.Once
Suzanne returned to India, she began to bump into Hrithik more and more
often. But though there was a mutual admiration society happening,
neither Hrithik nor Suzanne voiced their feelings, since both fight shy
of declaring their emotions, generally. But the two became best friends
and started to talk to and meet each other every day. And then, WHAM! It
happened. Suddenly, the two realized that they were in love. Suzanne
maintains that neither of them verbally made a commitment but they knew
that what they had was RIGHT!People who know Suzanne and Hrithik
say that she calls him her Bholunath, because she thinks he is too
naive and sweet for this world. Ask her if Hrithik has changed in any
way after success hit him headlong and she says, “He is still my sweet
little boy I fell in love with. He hasn’t changed a bit.”What Suzanne
apparently regrets, is the fact that Hrithik and she have lost all
privacy and don’t get too much time together. But she has willingly
accepted the situation as being part and parcel of the game.
Very few people know that Suzanne was heavily involved in the making
of Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai. For three months her own business took a
backseat, as she tried to concentrate on the pre-release work. Suzanne
even took on the onus of outfitting Hrithik in Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai.Apparently,
the only fear that was plaguing Suzanne before Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai
released, was that the film had to do well. She had seen Hrithik working
his bones off for his debut and she was worried about the fate of the
film. Being a spiritual person, Suzanne even went to Shirdi with Hrithik
to pray for the film.Suzanne is an integral part of the Roshan family, say family friends of the Khans and the Roshans. There is no family event where Suzanne is not present. Hrithik’s mother, Pinky Roshan
and Suzanne, share a very close bond. In fact, when the Roshan family
went on a long overdue holiday after the release of their film, it was
Suzanne who accompanied them. Hrithik`s success didn`t changed him or his love towards Suzanne though.

The play of William Shakespeare begins with a large fight between the Capulets and the
Montagues, two prestigious families in Verona, Italy. These families
have been fighting for quite some time, and the Prince declares that
their next public brawl will be punished by death. When the fight is
over, Romeo’s cousin Benvolio tries to cheer him of his melancholy.
Romeo reveals that he is in love with a woman named Rosaline, but she
has chosen to live a life of chastity. Romeo and Benvolio are
accidentally invited to their enemy’s party; Benvolio convinces Romeo to
go.
At the party, Romeo locks eyes with a young woman named Juliet. They
instantly fall in love, but they do not realize that their families are
mortal enemies. When they realize each other’s identities, they are
devastated, but they cannot help the way that they feel. Romeo sneaks
into Juliet’s yard after the party and proclaims his love for her. She
returns his sentiments and the two decide to marry. The next day, Romeo
and Juliet are married by Friar Lawrence; an event witnessed by Juliet’s
Nurse and Romeo’s loyal servant, Balthasar. They plan to meet in
Juliet’s chambers that night.
Romeo visits his best friend Mercutio and his cousin Benvolio but his
good mood is curtailed. Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, starts a verbal
quarrel with Romeo, which soon turns into a duel with Mercutio. Romeo
tries to stop the fight but it is too late: Tybalt kills Mercutio.
Romeo, enraged, retaliates by killing Tybalt. Once Romeo realizes the
consequences of his actions, he hides at Friar Lawrence’s cell.
Friar Lawrence informs Romeo that he has been banished from Verona
and will be killed if he stays. The Friar suggests Romeo spend the night
with Juliet, then leave for Mantua in the morning. He tells Romeo that
he will attempt to settle the Capulet and Montague dispute so Romeo can
later return to a united family. Romeo takes his advice, spending one
night with Juliet before fleeing Verona.
Juliet’s mother, completely unaware of her daughter's secret marriage
to Romeo, informs Juliet that she will marry a man named Paris in a few
days. Juliet, outraged, refuses to comply. Her parents tell her that
she must marry Paris and the Nurse agrees with them. Juliet asks Friar
Lawrence for advice, insisting she would rather die than marry Paris.
Fr. Lawrence gives Juliet a potion which will make her appear dead and
tells her to take it the night before the wedding. He promises to send
word to Romeo - intending the two lovers be reunited in the Capulet
vault.
Juliet drinks the potion and everybody assumes that she is dead —
including Balthasar, who immediately tells Romeo. Friar Lawrence’s
letter fails to reach Romeo, so he assumes that his wife is dead. He
rushes to Juliet’s tomb and, in deep grief, drinks a vial of poison.
Moments later, Juliet wakes to find Romeo dead and kills herself due to
grief. Once the families discover what happened, they finally end their
bitter feud. Thus the youngsters' deaths bring the families together.
Romeo And Juliet is a true tragedy in the literary sense because the
families gather sufficient self-knowledge to correct their behaviour but
not until it is too late to save the situation.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

As seen through child's eyes. Whenever I pass by a busy road, my 7 year old cousin Kanha manages to see something which will never catch an adult's eye.

While I am too busy honking, stressing, fretting and fuming at the chaos which surrounds us, he looks outside the window and says, 'see there's a kite and its hurt', referring to one hanging on a wire shredded into pieces. And I realise of course, the kite's had a story.

Simple, pure and fun. What a lesson to be learnt. Wow! My storytelling is improving. And I give credit to Kanha for it. He is teaching me more things than I can ever teach him. And he definitely makes a better teacher than me. Way better. Because innocence is his biggest tool.

Sadly, that is one tool I lost several years back. When I left the realms of childhood to step into a corrupted outside world, I left my mother's lap to fall prey to the vices of materialism and stopped living to earn a living.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

When you had your child, you made a decision to love your child. It doesn't just happen automatically because you are the mother.

It is the same with husband. When two get married - They DECIDED to love each other. Not just then, but until forever inspite of all the flaws and weakness. Because, They made that decision.

So The only way to un-love anyone - is to DECIDE it.
FEELINGS COME NATURALLY BUT OUR DECISION ONLY CAN MAKE IT TRUELOVE is an EMOTION KING. CAN`T deny its EXISTENCE. GET IT>> CATCH IT >> GRAB IT
Make a decision to stay happy & lucky by having love in your life forever & ever & ever.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

The sages wished to know from Romaharshana the details of Vaivasvata Manu's birth.

The sage Kashyapa's son was Vivasvana or the sun. The sun was married to Tvashta's (same as Vishvakarma) daughter Samjna. Vivasvana and Samjana had three children, Vaivasvata, Yama and Yamuna. Samjna could not however stand the strong energy of her husband, the sun. From her own body she created Chhaya, a woman who looked just like her. Samjna and Chhaya could not be distinguished from each other.

Samjna told Chhaya, Stay here and retend to be Samjna. Look after my three children, Vaivasvata, Yama and Yamuna. I am going off to my father's house. Don't tell anyone that you are not Samjna. I will do your bidding, replied Chhaya, But the moment someone grasps me by the hair, I will dvulge the truth.

Samjna went to Tvashta's house. When she had spent quite some time there, her father got suspicious and wanted to know why she was not returning to her husband. Samjna therefore adopted the form of a mare and began to live in the kingdom that is known as Uttarakuru.

Meanwhile, the sun and Chhaya had a son named Savarni. It was clear that Chhaya doted on Savarni. In comparison, Yama felt neglected. Yama was still very young and in a fit of rage, he kicked Chhaya. Chhaya cursed Yama. Yama was very surprised at this, since no mother curses her own son. He went and reported it to the sun. The sun deduced that Chhaya could not be Yama's mother. He grasped Chhaya by the hair and the truth came out.

The sun then went to Tvashta in search of Samjna. It was discovered that Samjna had done all this because she could not bear the energy of her husband. Tvashta chiselled off some of the sun's energy so that his radiance become muted.

Learning that Samjna had adopted the form of a mare, the sun adopted the form of a horse. He went and met his wife. As horse and mare, they had two children. These were the twin gods known as the Ashvinis. They were also called Nasatya and Dasra.

Vaivasvata Manu performed a yajna so as to have a son. From the sacrifice, a daughter Ila was born. Chandra's son Budha married Iia and they had a son named Pururava. This was the origin of the lunar dynasty which started with Pururva.

Later on, Vaivasvata Manu had nine sons. Their names were Ikshvaku, Shivi, Nabhaga, Dhrishnu, Sharyati, Narishyanta, Isha, Karusha and Priyavrata. These sons were the originators of the solar dynasty.

Epilogue
The assembled sages were gratified at Romaharshana having recited for them the Shiva Purana. They worshipped Romaharshana. But, warned Romaharshana, never divulge what I have told you, to those who are disrespectful or to those who do not believe in god.

Repeatly, Shiva himself appears in order to bless his devotees. A person who donates the Shiva Purana, along with gold and a bull, gets to live for ever in Shivaloka.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

There was a king named Gadhi. His daughter was name Satyavati. Satyavati was married to the sage Richika.

Richika arranged for a spectacular sacrifice. Some rice pudding was obtained from the yajna and Richika gave it to his wife Satyavati. He said, Split this rice pudding into two halves. Eat half yourself and give the remaining half to your mother. Here, let me divide it. This is your half and that is your mother's. We are brahmanas. So we will have a son who will display the traits of a brahmana. Your father is a kshatriya and your mother will have a son who will behave like a kshatriya.

Saying this, Richika went off to meditate in the forest. But mother and daughter managed to mix up their halves. In the course of his meditations, Richika realized that Satyavati was going to give birth to a brahmana son who would display kshatriya traits. Through his powers, he managed to postpone this birth by a generation. So Satyavati gave birth to Jamadagni. It was Jamadagni's son Parashurama who exhibited all the kshatriya like characteristics.

Gadhi's son was Vishvamitra. Vishvamitra was born a kshatriya. But because of the mixing up of the rice pudding, Vishvamitra turned out to be brahmana-like.

There was a king of the Haihaya dynasty named Arjuna. He had a thousand arms. He had also obtained the boon that flaming fire itself would be perpetually present on the tip of his arrow. Whenever he shot an arrow, the fire from the tip of the arrow burnt up the target. In this fashion, Arjuna used to burn up villages, cities and forests. He once burnt up the hermitages of sages. And one of the sages cursed Arjuna that he would killed by Parashurama.

Parashurama learnt the art of fighting from Shiva himself. While Parashurama was away learning how to fight, Arjuna arrived in Jamadagni's hermitage. Jamadagni had a wonderful cow (dhenu), known as a kamadhenu because it produced whatever objects one asked (Kama) from it. Using this kamadhenu, Jamadagni treated Arjuna and his entrie retinue to a royal feast.

Arjuna asked Jamadangi to give him this cow, but the sage refused. Arjuna then asked his soldiers to forcibly take away the cow. But just as this was going on, Parashurama arrived. He killed Arjuna, slicing off Arjuna's thousand arms in the process.

Having disposed of Arjuna, Parashurama went off to meditate and pay another visit to Shiva.

Taking advantage of Parashurama's absence, Arjuna's sons invaded Jamadagni's hermitage. They killed Jamadagni. When Parashurama returned, he exacted vengeance for this evil deed. He killed Arjuna's sons. Since Arjuna and his sons happened to be kshatriyas, Parashurama also killed all the kshatriyas in the world. He did this not once, but twenty-one times over. Why twenty-one times? The reason was that there were twenty-one weapon-marks on the dead Jamadagni's body.

But killing was a crime and Parashurama had committed a sin. As penance, Parashurama donated cows and performed a lot of tapasya. He also arranged an ashvamedha yajna. All this did not prove to be atonement enough. To complete the penance, Parashurama sought the advice of the sage Kashyapa.

Kashyapa told him to perform the donation that is known as tulapurusha. A tula (or tuladanda) is a pair of scales. The person (purusha) who is performing the donation is placed on one side of the weighing scale. On the other side are placed objects like honey , clarified butter, molasses, clothing and gold. The weight of the objects being donated has to be equal to the weight of the person performing the donation. This is known as tulapurusha. Parashurama performed tulapurusha and was freed from his sin.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Andhaka had been crowned king in Hiranyanetra's kingdom. Prahlada and Andhaka's other cousins went to him and said, You are blind. What are you going to do with a kingdom? Give it to us. Our uncle made a mistake in accepting a blind son from Shiva.

Andhaka was very hurt at these nasty words. He went away to the forest and started to perform tapasya. He prayed to Brahma. For millions of years he stood on one leg, with his arms raised high, and prayed. No one since that day has been able to duplicate Andhaka's wonderful feat of meditation.

He did not eat or drink at all. He chopped off parts of his body and offered it to the sacrificial fire. It came to such a pass that there was no more meat of blood left in his body. It had all been offered to the fire. He was just a skeleton. It was then that Brahma appeared before him and offered a boon.

Prahlada and my other cousins have taken over my kingdom, said Andhaka. Please grant me the boon that I may be able to see. Please also grant me the boon that I may not be killed by gods, demons, or humans, or even by the great Vishnu himself.

Brahma was in a fix. Earlier, many demons had asked for similar boons, but they had generaly not mentioned Vishnu. So that , when the need arose, Vishnu had been able to kill them. But here was an asura who asking for the boon that even Vishnu would not be able to kill him. This would make him virtually immortal.

Everything that you have asked for is possible, replied Brahma. But all beings have to die.

Indicate the circumstances under which you will die and the boons will be granted.

Since I have to die, said Andhaka, Let it be under the following conditions. If I ever wish to marry a beautiful woman who is like a mother unto me, let that be the hour appointed for my death.

This condition was better than nothing at all and Brahma granted Andhaka the boons. Andhaka returned to his kingdom. When Prahala and the other cousins learnt that Andhaka had become so powerful because of the boons, they not only returned to him his kingdom, but theirs as well.

Remember that Andhaka could now see.

The first thing that Andhaka did was to invade heaven. He defeated Indra and the other gods and made they pay taxes to the demons. Next he defeated the snakes (nagas), the gandharvas, the rakshasas, the yakshas (companions of Kubera) and the humans. Thus he began to rule over all the three worlds.

For millions of years Andhaka ruled in this fashion. The religion of the Vedas suffered during this period, since Andhaka paid no attention to it.

Once Andhaka went to a visit tot he Mount Mandara. The place was so beautiful that he made up his mind to live there. Three of Andhaka's generals were named Duryodhana, Vighasa and hasti.

These three were exploring the environment of Mount Mandara when they came upon a cave. An ascetic was meditating inside the cave. He was dressed in the skin of a tiger, wore a garland of skulls, his hair was matted and he wore a crescent moon on his forehead.

There was a beautiful woman near the ascetic. She was more beautiful than any other woman in the three worlds. The three generals concluded that this was the right wife for Andhaka.

When the generals came back to Andhaka and reported on what they had seen, the asura king said, What are you waiting for? Go to the ascestic and ask him for the woman.

Duryodhana, Vighasa and Hasti went back to the ascetic. You are only an ascetic, they said. You don't deserve such a pretty wife. Our master is the lord of everything and he is immensely rich. He is also handsome because of a boon received from Brahma. Give us this woman so that our master Andhaka may marry her.

Ask your master to come and take the woman himself, replied Shiva, for the ascetic, as you have already guessed, was none other than Shiva. And the beautiful woman was Parvati.

As soon as he heard this, Andhaka grasped his sword and came to fight with Shiva. The door to the cave was guarded by Nandi, and Andhaka first had to fight with him.

Nandi easily defeated the asura and also defeated the asura soldiers who had accompanied their king. But Andhaka returned and again a fight raged with Nandi for five hundred years. Brahma, Vishnu, Indra and the other gods also came to help in the fight with the demons.

The general Vighasa was a very strong warrior. He opened his mouth wide and swallowed up all the gods, including Vishnu. So far, Shiva himself had not played any part in the fighting. But hearing what Vighasa had done, he ascended his bull and came out to fight. He killed Vighasa and rescued the gods from the asura's stomach. The asuras had a preceptor named Shukracharya who knew the art of bringing back dead beings to life. So Shukracharya moved around the battlefield, brining back to life any demons that were killed. This was not helping the cause of the gods at all. Shiva's companions (gangas) captured Shukracharya and brought him to Shiva. Shiva promptly swallowed up Shukracharya.

Soon all the demons were taken care of, with the exception of Andhaka. He continued to fight.

Vishnu's mace could do him no harm and he only laughed at Indra's arrows. Some of the arrows did pierce the asura's body. But whenever drops of blood from his body onto the ground, asuras who were exactly like him in appearance were created from this blood.

As a result, the battlefield was soon populated with thousands and thousands of Andhakas.

Shiva created a goddess known as Devi from his own body. Devi was appointed the task of drinking up the blood of the asuras before it could spill onto the ground. Thus aided by Devi, Shiva started to tackle the demons and soon there was only the original Andhaka left. Shiva flung a trident at him.

The trident struck Andhaka on the chest and the asura king fell down dead.

When the war was over, Shukracharya prayed to Shiva and was released from Shiva's stomach.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The sage Vyaghrapada had a son named Upamanyu. When he was small, he wanted some milk from his mother. But he was not at all happy with the milk that his mother gave him. He complained that it did not taste like milk at all.

Naturally, said his mother. I did not give you milk. How can we afford milk? We are not rich. I powdered some rice and mixed it with water. That is what I gave to you as milk. Unfortunately, you have tasted milk in your uncle's house and you could make out the difference.

Upamanyu's mother began to cry. But Upamanyu consoled his mother. Don't cry, please, he said. I will pray to Shiva and get milk for myself.

His mother taught him the mantra that was to be used for praying to Shiva. She also taught him another mantra which would summon up a terrible divine weapon named aghorastra. This was just in case there was any danger.

Upamanyu went to the Himalayas and started to meditate. He lived only on air and chanted the incantation that his mother had taught him. He prayed in front of an earthen linga. Demons came to disturb his meditation, but Upamanyu paid no attention to them. Shiva himself was impressed by Upamanyu's difficult tapasya. But he thought that he would test Upamanyu first.

He arrived in front of Upamanyu in the disguise of Indra and asked, Upamanyu, what are you doing?

I am blessed that the king of the gods has arrived before me, replied Upamanu. I am praying to Shiva.

Shiva! Why pray to that useless fellow? asked Shiva.

Upamanu could not stand this insult to Shiva. He summoned up aghorastra by means of the mantra and let it loose at the person he thought was Indra. Shiva then manifested himself in his own form and aghorastra was repelled by Nadi, who had also turned up. Shiva himself taught Upamanu all sorts of sacred knowledge, and arrangements were made so that Upamanyu need never suffer from a lack of milk.

Krishna once came to meet the sage Upamanyu, many years after the milk incident.

Upamanyu taught Krishna the words of wisdom that he learned from Shiva; he also taught Krishna to pray to Shiva. It was by praying to Shiva that Krishna obtained his son Samba. For sixteen months Krishna had to pray before Shiva appeared, to grant the boon regarding the son. Parvati also granted Krishna several boons.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

You know about Rama and Ravana from the Ramayana and you also know that Rama killed not only Ravana, but also his brother Kumbahakarna.

A rakshasa woman named Karkati used to live on the mountains named Sahya. Karkati had been married to Kumbhakarna and her son was named Bhima. One day, Bhima asked Karkati, Mother, whose son am I?

Why do we live alone in this forest?

Karkati said, Let me tell you my sad story. I used to be married to the rakshasa Viradha. But Rama killed Viradha. Later on, Kumbhakarna came and married me here and you were born. Kumbhakarna had promised to take me to Lanka. But he was killed by Rama and I never got to see Lanka. That is the reason we live here alone. We have nowhere else to go.

Bhima was very sorry to hear this story. He resolved to avenge himself on Vishnu because he knew that Rama had been an incarnation of Vishnu. For a thousand years he prayed to Brahma with his hands raised up to the sky. When Brahma appeared, Bhima wished for the boon that he might become very strong. This boon Brahma granted.

The first target of Bhima's attention was the king of Kamarupa. The king's crime was that he was devoted to Vishnu. Bhima attacked the king, stole all his belongings, conquered his kingdom and imprisoned him and his wife. He then proceeded to conquer the rest of the world.

In their prison, the king and his wife started to pray to Shiva. This news was brought to Bhima by the rakshasa guards and Bhima decided to kill the king. He found the king praying before a Shiva linga. When Bhima raised his sword to cut off the the king's head, Shiva appeared from the linga and repelled the sword with his trident. Bhima flung a spear at Shiva, but this too was driven back by the trident. Whatever weapon was used by Bhima, Shiva's trident destroyed them all. Finally, Shiva killed Bhima and all his rakshasa cohorts.

The gods were gratified and they craved that Shiva might always remain in the place in the form of the linga.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

A tirtha is a place of pilgrimage. At a tirtha named Nandikeshvara, there is a famous Shiva linga. In a city named Karnaki there used to live a brahmana. He left his two sons with his wife and went to visit the city of Varanasi. It was then learnt that the brahmana had died in Varanasi. His widow brought up her sons and eventually married them off. She became old and it was time for her to die.

But death would not come. It seemed to the sons that their mother was hankering after something and would not die until her wish had been satisfied.

Mother, they asked, What is it that you want?

I have always wanted to visit the tirtha of Varanasi, the mother replied. But now I am going to die without ever visitng the place. Promise me that when I am dead, you will take my ashes to Varanasi and throw them into the river Ganga there.

We will, said the sons. You can die inpeace.

The mother died and the sons performed her funeral ceremony. Then the eldest son, Suvadi, set out for Varanasi with his mother's ashes. The way was long and he stopped to rest and spend the night in a brahmana's house.

A cow was tied in front of the house and it was time for milking. Suvati saw that when the brahmana tried to milk the cow, the calf would not permit the milking and kicked the brahmana. The brahmana then hit the calf with a stick. The brahmana went away after the milking. But Suvadi was still there and and he heard the cow tell her calf, I am distressed that the brahmana struck you. Tomorow I am going to gore the brahmana's son to death.

Next day, the brahmana's son came to do the milking. The cow gored him with horns so that he died. Bu this meant that the cow had committed the sin of killing a brahmana. Immediately, because of the sin, the while cow turned completely black.

The cow left the house. Suvadi followed, amazed at this strange sight. The cow went to the banks of the river Narmada, to the place named Nandikeshvara. She bathed in the river and became white once again. This meant that the sin of killing a brahmana had been completely washed away. Suvadi marvelled at this and realized what a powerful tirtha Nandikeshvara was.

He was about to leave for Varansi after bathing in the river himself, when he was accosted by a beautiful woman.

Where are you going, Suvadi? asked the woman. Throw your mother's ashes in the river here. This is a far greater tirtha than Varanasi.

Who are you? asked Survadi.

I am the river Gangaa, came the reply.

The woman vanished and Suvadi did as he had been bidden. As soon as he had done this, his dead mother appeared in the sky and told him that she was immensely gratified. She would now go straight to heaven.

Nandikeshvara is a wonderful tirtha because a brahmana woman named Rishika had earlier performed very difficult tapasya there to please Shiva.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

The door to Parvati's place was guarded by two of Shiva's companions, Nandi and Bhringi. But Parvati's companions, Jaya and Vijaya, didn't like this at all. They thought that there should be a guard who would be answerable to Parvati rather than to Shiva. It was Parvati's place, not Shiva's. Moreover, Shiva was in the habit of walking in at awkard moments, and Nandi and Bringi never stopped Shiva. Jaya and Vijaya asked Parvati to do something about this.

Parvati took some clay of a pond and fashioned the clay into a very handsome son. She dressed the son in beautiful clothes and jewellry. He was named Ganesha. Parvati told Ganesha, You are my son. Stand at the gate and do not allow anyone to enter.

Ganesha picked up a rod and began his duty as sentry. Parvati went to have a bath.

Soon Shiva turned up with his companions. Where are you going? asked Ganesha. You cannot pass. My mother is having her bath.

I am Shiva, answered Shiva.

Who is Shiva? retorted Ganesha. I don't know of any Shiva. You cannot go in.

Shiva tried to ignore Ganesha and enter, but Ganesha started to beat Shiva with the rod. Shiva then asked his companions to remove this upstart. But they only got thrashed by Ganesha in the process.

Nandi tried to grasp one of Ganesha's legs and Brhringi the other. But Ganesha uprooted a wooden door and beat them so hard that they fled. The gods and the sages all came to see what the uproar was about.

Shiva told Brahma, Why don't you try to pacify that creature?

Brahma advanced to reason with Ganesha. But Ganesha didn't know Brahma; he thought that this was another one of Shiva's companions. He therefore grabbed Brahma and tore off Brahma's beard by the handful. Brahma fled in pain.

This had become a matter where Parvati felt her pride to be at stake. So she kept Ganesha supplied with weapons. The gods attacked Ganesha with all sorts of weapons. He drove them back.

Vishnu told Shiva, This fellow can only be killed with some trickery. Otherwise, he seems to be invincible.

Ganesha flung a mace at Visnu and hurt him considerably. He struck down Shiva's bow with another mace. Vishnu and Ganesha then began to fight, with the sudarshana chakra being used by Vishnu and maces by Ganesha. While this duel raged, Shiva crept up stealthily from behind and cut off Ganesha's had with his trishula (trident). This was the trickery that Vishnu had planned for.

When Parvati learnt of Ganesha's death, her ire was roused. She got ready to destroy the universe and everyone was alarmed. Narada was sent to Parvati as a messager. He was to try and pacify Parvati. But Parvati agreed to relent only if two conditions were satisfied. The first condition was that Ganesha should be brought back to life. The second condition was that Ganesha should be accepted as a god and should enjoy all divine rights.

These conditions wre readily accepted. Ganesha's headless body was cleaned and bathed. But the head could not be found. It had been lost in the heat of the battle. Shiva sent his companions out with the head of the first living being that they saw. This happened to be an elephant with one tusk. The elephant's head was stuck onto Ganesha's body and Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva combined their powers to bring back life to the dead body.

Shiva accepted Ganesha as his son. He also made Ganesha the lord of all his companions, the ganas.

That is why the elephant-god is called Ganapati. It was also decreed that worship to any god would be useless unless it was preceded by prayers to Ganesha.

Chaturthi tithi is the fourth lunar day. Krishnapaksha is that part of the lunar fortnight during which the moon wanes. Since Parvati created Ganesha in the month of Kartika and on chaturthi tithi in krishnapaksha, that is the day on which Ganapati is worshipped.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Shiva called the seven great sages (saptarshis) and asked them to go to Himalaya as his messengers. The message was that he wished to marry Himalaya's daughter Parvati. Himalaya was delighted to see the sages and even more delighted to learn that Shiva wanted to marry Parvati. A date was fixed for the marriage.

The day of the marriage dawned. Gandharvas (singers of heaven) sang and apsara (dancers of heaven) danced. All the gods came to Kailasa to accompany Shiva on the procession. Himalaya had also got ready. He had built many gates in front of his house and had placed flags on them. The beauty of Himalaya's residence at that time is impossible to describe. When the procession arrived at the residence, Parvati's mother Menaka rushed out.

Let me see Shiva, she exclaimed. Let me see my son-in-law. My daughter Parvati has performed tapasya to obtain Shiva as a husband. He must be exceedingly handsome.

The first person Menaka saw was Vishvavasu, the king of the gandharvas. Vishvavasu was very handsome and, at first, Menaka thought that this was Shiva. But when she was told that this was only a singer who entertained Shiva, she thought that Shiva would be more handsome. Then her eyes fell down on the handsome Kubera, the god of wealth, and she thought that this had to be Shiva. Kubera was more attractive than Vishvavasu. But Menaka was told that this was not Shiva either. Then came Varuna, more attractive than Kubera. But this was not Menaka's son-in-law. Nor was her son-in-law the great god Yama, handsomer than Varuna. The handsome gods Indra, Surya and Chandra passed by. But Narada told Menaka that these were not Shiva, they were simply Shiva's servants.

Menaka's joy knew no bounds. If these were the servants, what was the master going to be like? She mistook Brahma, Vishnu and Brihaspati for Shiva, and each time Narada told her that she was wrong. Where then was Shiva? Finally Shiva came and Narada pointed him out to Menaka. At the sight of her son-in-law, Menaka fell unconscious.

Shiva was surrounded by ghosts on all sides. The faces were fierce, their complexions were dark and they made a tremendous racket. Shiva himself rode on bull. He had three eyes, five faces and ten arms. He was smeared with ashes and the moon adorned his forehead. He was dressed in a tiger's skin and a garland of skulls hung around his neck. No wonder Menaka fainted.

When she recovered, she began to lament. She scolded Himalaya, Narada and Parvati for her misfortune. Brahma, the other gods, and the sages tried to pacify Menaka. But to no avail.

I will not permit my daughter to be married to Shiva, Menaka said. I will give her poison instead. I will throw her into a well and kill her. I will chop her up into pieces with a weapon. I will hurl her into the sea. I will kill myself. I will get Parvati married to someone else. Not to Shiva. Parvit resolved, I shall not marry anyone other than Shiva. Is a jackal a fit replacement for a lion?

Vishnu then tried to pacify Menaka. But this did not succeed either. Fianlly Narada asked Shiva to display his beautiful form and Shiva obliged. This form is exhibited only to those who are very faithful to Shiva. Everyone was charmed by this beautiful form, even Menaka. His body shone like a thousand suns and a crown sparkled on his head. His clothes glittered and the lustre of his jewels put the stars to shame.

Menaka begged forgiveness for her foolishness and now there were no further obstacles to the marriage. Under Brahma's supervision, the marriage ceremony took place and Shiva and Parvati returned to Kailasa.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

But Parvati had fallen in love with Shiva and she didn't know what she could do about it. She thought of Shiva all the time.

One day the sage Narada came and told her, Shiva is only pleased with tapasya. Without tapasya, even Brahma and the other gods do not get to see Shiva. Why don't you perform tapasya?

Parvati decided to do what Narada had asked her to. She asked her parents for permission. Her father agreed with alacrity. Although her mother Menaka was not at all keen that Parvati should perform difficult tapasya, she too eventually agreed.

Parvati gave up her jewellery and handsome clothes. She wore deerskin instead. There is a peak in the Himalayas known as Gouriskikhara. It is there that Parvati went for her tapasy. The meditation was very difficult. During the monsson Parvati meditated while seated on the ground. In the winter she mediated under the water. Wild beats dared not harm her. All the gods and sages assembled to see this wonderful tapasya. The gods and the sages also began to pray to Shiva. Lord, can't you see that Parvati is performing difficult tapasya? They asked. No one has meditated like this before. No one will meditate like this in the future. Please grant her what she wants.

Shiva adopted the form of an old brahmana (the first of the four classes) and appeared at Parvati's hermitage. Parvati welcomed the old man and worshipped him with flowers and fruits.

Why are you meditating? asked the brahmana. What is it that you want?

I wish to have Shiva as a husband, replied Parvati.

You are indeed stupid. Said the brahmana. That is like giving up gold for a piece of glass or giving sandalwood for mud. Does anyone give up the water of the Ganga and drink water from a well instead? Marry one of the gods instead, go and marry Indra. Shiva is a stupid fellow. He has three eyes and five faces. His hair is matted and his body is smeared with ashes. He wears snakes as garlands. He is always accompanied by ghosts, He has no clothes and no wealth. No one knows who his parent are. He live sin the forst and his throat is blue with poison. I think you are making a big mistake. Forget about Shiva and don't waste your life.

The brahmana's words angered Parvati. It is you who are stupid, she said. You don't know a thing about Shiva. He is the lord of everthing. You have insulted Shiva and cursed am I that I made the mistake of worshipping you. You are again going to say something nasty about Shiva. But before you can do that, let me go away. I shall not stay to hear Shiva insulted.

As Parfati was about to depart, Shiva adopted his own form and said, Where are you going? I thought that you were praying for me. You can't forsake me now. I am not going to let you go. Ask for a boon.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Shahrukh’s personal story can never be complete if one were not to talk about his romance and subsequent marriage with Gauri Chhiba, the daughter of retired Major Ramesh Chhiba, who had been born a vegetarian, was a Hindu Brahmin, and even had a temple within his house. Shahrukh being a Muslim in India where religion plays a key role while deciding the destiny of marital alliances, his marrying Gauri whom he had met in 1984 and eventually married in 1991 was indeed a tough task to accomplish.

The relationship between the two had been kept under wraps, and understandably so because Gauri’s parents would not have accepted it. Or, so it seemed for quite some time even while the twosome continued to meet up for six long years. The youngest in a Punjabi joint family with around 15 members, that Gauri would marry someone from her community was a foregone conclusion.

As for Shahrukh, he was willing to do anything to get her in his life, and it is said that he had entered Gauri’s household by posing as Abhimanyu during the girl’s birthdayparty. Abhimanyu…. Who? Yes! The character that Shahrukh had just started to play in the television serial Fauji that was being directed by the retired Lieutenant Colonel Raj Kapoor. The serial based on life in the army had made Shahrukh’s character really popular, and people around even said that he looked quite a bit like Dilip Kumar when he attended the birthday party in Gauri’s house that day.

The story of Shahrukh and Gauri’s relationship continued to add a new chapter with every passing day, and not all of them were bliss-laden as is the case with all human relationships. He was tremendously, in fact uncomfortably possessive about his lady love, so much that he would pick up a quarrel with her even if she let her hair down… literally. Finally, Gauri lost her cool and realized that she wanted to get away from the emotional bedlam in 1989. Without informing Shahrukh, she came down to Mumbai with her pals just a day after the former had celebrated her birthday in his room by decorating it the best way he could have and giving her lots of presents.

It was when Gauri had left for Mumbai that Cupid shot that one decisive arrow. Shahrukh just had gone to the city of dreams where his love had gone, and he ended up telling everything to his mother who was supportive and open-minded as always. Not only did she give her son Rs 10,000, she also advised him to go to Mumbai and get his love back. Shahrukh went there with his friends, and what followed sounds like a chapter straight out of fictional romantic folklore.

In the huge city, he and his friends kept looking for Gauri, and especially around the beachees because of his awareness that she was attracted to them in a big way. On the last day of his stay in Mumbai, since he had run short of financial fuel obviously, a cab guy advised him to go to a place called the Aksa Beach. From there, they ferried across to a place called Gorai and, after searching frantically, managed to track her down when she was standing in the water! Once the duo saw each other, they embraced each other and started crying. That was the defining moment in their relationship, because it was clear to both of them that they need to be with each other all their lives.

The problem the couple apprehended was because of Gauri’s set-up that consisted of simple people who were loyal to Indian social norms and did not question the tenets of tradition: which, in this case, implied that having a son-in-law who belonged to a different religion. This was a thought that would have never crossed their minds. But the time when the twosome had to marry had to surface some day or the other, and that did happen in 1991. The couple went ahead and put up a notice for a court marriage which, according to the Indian marital laws, meant that their names were displayed in front of the court in a notice for one long month.

Shahrukh and Gauri had to hide the notice from their parents, so they did the most obvious thing. They gave a address and said it was their own. The poor fellow had to suffer the repercussions. The parochial among the Hindus made a group and shouted in front of his house, and so did their Muslim counterpart. During those 30 days, the life of his friend was absolutely miserable, but then both Shahrukh and Gauri did not have a choice because they were really concerned about the latter’s parents.

Those 30 days proved to be critical for the young couple. They worked hard towards convincing Gauri’s parents, and eventually managed to make them see their point of view. That they would have a court marriage after the notice period got over was decided upon, and it was on August 26 that this ceremony was finally solemnised in the court. They also got married in keeping with Hindu and Muslim traditions seperately. In fact, it was Gauri who insisted that they should have a Muslim wedding too, and the roots of a secular family set-up had been firmly established be them.

This was the time when Shahrukh was making his initial forays in Bollywood, and among his forthcoming films were Deewana and Raju Bangaya Gentleman while he was shooting for Dil Aashna Hai as well.